VidSumitt Case StudyCUSTOMER SUCCESS STORY
Learn how a large conference makes $100k+ selling virtual tickets
VidSummit is the leading Video Marketing Conferencing hosted in Los Angeles, California each year in October. 2017 was the first year VidSummit sold virtual ticket access to the live conference produced with PTZOptics cameras. Derral Eve’s the event organizer is a social media leader and YouTube influencer who was able to leverage his social media channels to drive massive amounts of virtual tickets for the event. The event was two days long and included live streaming from three separate rooms. Virtual ticket holders were given access to a private CDN (Enterprise Stream.Live) where they would receive exclusive access to the live conference plus on-demand access to the video content. 98% of virtual ticket sales also purchased the on-demand video content and virtual ticket revenue surpassed $100,000.
PTZOptics 20X-SDI camera mounted on a tripod. This camera was used as an audience viewpoint ideal for capturing the Q&A.
Virtual ticket sales paid for the entire VidSummit conference expenses. The event was so successful PTZOptics has a free course available for training.
An IP Joystick was used to control three cameras in the main ballroom. Ethernet cabling is affordable and ideal. Don’t miss the full behind the scenes video of this live streaming system available on our YouTube Channel.
This year we teamed up with David Foster, the Head Geek of Geeks Life and Co-Founder of Live Streaming Pros. The plan was simple. PTZOptics will supply all of the cameras, cables and PoE switches and Live Streaming Pros will provide their custom-made live streaming computers running vMix. Each room would have at least 2 PTZ cameras and a static ZCam all connected via 3G SDI cabling to the PCIe capture cards available inputs in each streaming PC. There are three main rooms including the Main Ball Room, a Theater and a large room called “West Chester”. Each room has speakers lined up to be live streamed and recorded from 8 AM to 6 PM each day with a 1-hour break for lunch at noon.
For the large room, we have (2) 20X SDI PTZOptics cameras along with a Wide Angle ZCAM-VL box camera we have set up for a stage/crowd shot. This is the stage where are the biggest name keynote speakers are going to present. The combination of our three cameras in total will allow us to use one camera for tracking the talent with our PTZ joystick. Each PTZ camera for the large room will be controlled over IP using the IP-JOY Joystick which will be connected to the same ethernet switch as the cameras. Each camera will have it’s own IP address and can be controlled with the joystick, vMix or any iOS mobile device. Since this is a public event we were sure to bring a WAP (Wireless Access Point) with
The Theater Room is also fairly large and ideal for multiple PTZ cameras. The plan is similar to the Main Ballroom except we will be using the HuddleCamHD Serial joystick controller which is a little easier to set up since there is no networking involved. The three camera setup will allow the camera operators to smoothly transition in-between camera angles and follow speakers that are moving on stage.
David has recently converted from Livestream Studio to vMix for live video production and hasn’t looked back. I am an avid vMix user myself so we go along quite nicely. On the software side, David made sure to have VidSummit branded content made in the vMix title editor which allowed us to quickly popular lower third titles throughout the event as speakers changed. We were also able to connect to each camera over the network for IP camera control inside vMix. This allows us to create known camera preset positions inside vMix with names. Once each camera is connected to the vMix system we can open the input, select the PTZ tab and create presets which take little snapshots of the camera’s viewpoint from that position. Since we are working with volunteers in each room it’s great to have a list of preset position where they can see exactly where the camera will go with the click of a button.
The actual live streaming will be done with a LiveU wireless internet connection. My advice to Derral Eves the event manager was to live streaming in 720p and record the events to a local hard drive in 1080p. David recommended recording the cameras in 1080p at 60 frames per second to get the best crisp quality that he uses for his own live streaming and video production.
A graduate of DeVry Institute of Technology, Doug has been in the Technology industry since 1976 and actively oversees Fearing’s daily operations. Along with his wife, Lois, and three others, Doug started Fearing’s in a 600 square-foot facility in Portage, Wisconsin. In the 25 years since, the company has grown to over 30 employees with offices in Madison and Milwaukee, Wisconsin. Doug likes to say he’s a “TV Technician with a dream� going back to his history with the family’s original business-Fearing’s TV and Appliance.
Doug values time with family, watersports, hiking, snowshoeing and skiing. In addition to being a devoted member of his church, Doug serves as Board President for Kinship Mentoring of Columbia County, Board member of Schools for Haiti and Scripture Chair of the Gideons-Portage camp.
A graduate of MATC, Lois oversees Fearing’s daily book keeping along with various HR responsibilities.
Along with Doug, Lois is deeply connected to community outreach, serving as a Board member and Fundraising Committee Chairperson for Kinship Mentoring of Columbia County. She also serves on the Schools for Haiti Fundraising committee. In addition, Lois’ ongoing passion and commitment to provide care for the elderly comes from her 10-year history of working in a Reedsburg, Wisconsin Nursing home.
Lois enjoys singing, hiking, sunny days on the pontoon, and spending time with her 4 grandchildren.
Ehren drives Fearing’s technology by continually seeking out trends to enhance capabilities while supporting Sales, Engineering and Installation teams. Throughout his years with Fearing’s, Ehren’s talent and vision have joined forces to create a wide variety of projects and strategic solutions that exceed expectation.
Ehren loves music, family time, movies, nature, sustainability efforts and electric vehicles.
With 10 years with Fearing’s and over twice that long in the industry, Ben continues to lead, coordinate, and develop the Commercial AV team.
By consistently delivering an outstanding experience and outcome, Ben contributes to the Fearing’s legacy of long-lasting partnerships that truly make a difference. Whatever the Commercial AV need may be, Ben and team deliver at the highest level.
Ben is an avid fisherman and photographer. He enjoys coaching his sons and other youth.
Chris has been with Fearing’s for 20 years and in the industry for over 2 decades. As a Certified leader in Sales Acceleration and trained in EOS (Entrepreneurial Operating Systems), Chris successfully utilizes his skills to lead the Fearing’s Salesforce. Chris and team are motivated and driven to develop new client partnerships while continuing to reinforce loyal long-term relationships with ongoing Service excellence.
Married for 19 years with 3 children, Chris enjoys skiing, hiking, fishing, boating, hunting, camping and golf. He’s also been actively involved as a Youth Football and Softball coach for his family and others.
